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Inselm was an obese, black-haired, mustached man with a conspiratorial mind like no other.[1] Despite his constant conniving, he was skilled at covering his tracks and was highly respected by most of his subjects for doing good things for his duchy. As he was careful to never be caught in a lie, only a select few ever suspected him.[2]

While his official estate was in Kamlann, just outside Zazesspur, Inselm secretly owned property in many places, including Athkatla, Murann, Myratma, and Baldur's Gate.[1] It was at his manse in Baldur's Gate where the Knights of the Shield made their headquarters.[3]

Inselm was an ordinary merchant[1] who happened to be at the right place at the right time during the Tethyrian Interregnum.[2] His analytic mind and his secret ambition garnered him enough wealth that he bought for himself a title and became nobility.[1]

Before his appointment as Duke of Kamlann and royal spymaster for Tethyr, Inselm had somehow managed to acquire several lost treasures of the Tethyrian royal family, which he kept in hiding.[2]

During the Reclamation Wars, when Zaranda Star laid siege to Myratma for the first time, she was betrayed by the Council of Lords of Zazesspur. Because he suspected she would eventually win the war, Inselm alone of the Councilors remained loyal to Zaranda, and he locked himself in his estate outside of Zazesspur until the tide of the war changed in her favor.[5]

When the war ended, Inselm emerged from hiding and brought forth a gift for the new queen—the bridal crown of Queen Lhayronna, the wife of King Alemander III.[6]

When Zaranda set up her new kingdom, she appointed Inselm as duke of Kamlann and Lord Watch Chancellor. As Lord Watch Chancellor, Inselm served as the spymaster for the queen.[7] He hated this position, however.[2]

While technically under the control of the Countess of Starspur, Inselm managed to control much of the city of Zazesspur, through the efforts of his wife, Lucia, who sat on its Council.[8]

Inselm was invited to become a member of the Knights of the Shield shortly after he had purchased his nobility,[1] before the events of the Reclamation Wars.

Once inside the organization, Inselm rose through the ranks quickly and he become a member of the Shield Council after only five years, although many of his promotions were due to convenient deaths, sometimes with the help of the Night Masks or Fire Knives.[1]

His wealth and growing influence and connections were only stepping stones to more and more power. Inselm had no qualms about abandoning them if necessary, but this was only before Inselm started to listen to Gargauth. Gargauth chose him as a perfect instrument and arranged for his promotion to First Shield Lord. From that time on, Gargauth whispered evil advice to Inselm that prepared him to commit the most nefarious acts, becoming more and more evil. Soon, Inselm was totally subservient to Gargauth.[1]

In 1364 DR, Inselm's future wife, another member of the Shield Council, failed in a plot against the Lords of Waterdeep. For this reason, Ghauntz, the Second Lord of the Shield, being directed by Gargauth, began seeking a replacement for Inselm. Before this occurred, however, Inselm had suddenly become an indispensable member of the royal court of Tethyr, and his timely and veracious information about the kingdom's enemies, especially in south Faerûn and the Sword Coast, restored Gargauth's faith in him.[9]

Inselm was married to Lucia Thione-Hhune. It was not a marriage of love but of politics, though both did share a love of intrigue.[2]

There were few people Inselm hated as much as King Haedrak III. For one, Inselm had hoped to be the one to marry Zaranda Star and claim the throne for himself. He suspected that Haedrak had lived a secret life in Shadowdale under the watch of Elminster, but he could never learn the full details.[2]

Besides King Haedrak, Inselm's most bitter enemy among the Queen's Privy Councilors was Duchess Marilyn Haresdown. Inselm actively tried to corrupt her attempts at diplomacy as the Royal Ambassador.[12]

Among the nobles of Tethyr, one of Inselm's favorites was Count Dancon Riiklass; however, Inselm was never successful at luring the count into any of his schemes, because the man seemed not to care about money or fame.[13]

Inselm had a close apprentice, named Hasheth Balik, who was one of the only people who knew of his true hatred of the king.[2]